The Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull

The Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, also known as “The Skull of Doom”, is probably best known because Arthur C Clarke made the skull into his signature logo for his popular television series, Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World. The skull also featured prominently in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, where Mitchell-Hedges receives two mentions. And we are told that “Indy” was once obsessed with this skull!

Mitchell-Hedges mentioned the skull in the first edition of his autobiography, Danger My Ally (1954), without specifying where or by whom it was found. He merely stated that “it is at least 3,600 years old and according to legend was used by the High Priest of the Maya when performing esoteric rites. It is said that when he willed death with the help of the skull, death invariably followed”. Later editions of Danger My Ally omitted this rather intriguing paragraph. Why, no-one knows.
In an affidavit, Anna Hedges, his adopted daughter, claimed that she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar inside a temple in Lubaantun, in British Honduras, now Belize. Others believe Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull from an antiques dealer in New York or that the skull was purchased at auction in 1943. Others argue that Mitchell-Hedges could never tell how he acquired the skull, as no-one would believe him. Could truth be stranger than fiction?

The skull is made from a block of clear quartz (although the jaw detaches), 5 inches (13 cm) high, 7 inches (18 cm) long and 5 inches wide. It is about the size of a small human cranium, with near perfect detail.
In 1970, art restorer Frank Dorland was given permission to submit the skull to tests at the internal Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. According to Dorland, the skull had been carved with total disregard to the natural crystal axis and no metal tools were used. Dorland claimed he was unable to find any tell-tale scratch marks, except for traces of mechanical grinding on the teeth. From tiny patterns near the carved surfaces, Dorland determined it was first chiselled into rough form, probably using diamonds. The finer shaping, grinding and polishing, Frederick claimed, was done with sand over a period of 150 to 300 years.
The debate whether the skull is pre- or post-Columbian continues to rage and divide opinions. As the skull is made from quartz, no carbon or any other dating techniques can be performed on it. Though some argue evidence of wheels shows it is post-Columbian, other experts argue that is not at all the case.
The enigma, and controversy continues…

For more information, visit the Mitchell-Hedges website.